


Human Watching

by orphan_account



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou
Genre: Ayakashi, F/F, Gen Fic, Youkai
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-03-05
Updated: 2011-03-05
Packaged: 2017-10-16 03:14:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/167818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hinoe likes watching humans, especially one in particular. Set when Reiko was actively acquiring names for the Book of Friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Human Watching

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [fic_promptly](http://fic-promptly.dreamwidth.org) for the prompt "Natsume Yuujinchou, Reiko Natsume, watching".

Human and ayakashi, interactions between them were rare. Finding a human who could actually see ayakashi was rare on its own. Sometimes, ayakashi might take on the guise of a human, those ones who had developed a certain fondness for them, or others interested in a quick meal. Neither interested Hinoe. She had no problem admitting it; she did find the female humans alluring. Watching from afar suited her best though. She didn't need an invitation to talk. Admiring the scenery was enough for her.

And then there was Reiko.

A beautiful young human, one of those rare ones that could see her kind. She wasn't frightened of ayakashi, nor was she like the exorcists in the area. No, her way was different. She'd seek out ayakashi, challenge them to a duel, and take their names after winning. Anyone who's name was taken was bound to servitude. Hinoe had gotten caught up in this mess, but Reiko wasn't a harsh master. She rarely made use of the servants she'd acquired. This was all a game to her, nothing more. Something to pass the time, like Hinoe's people watching. Reiko was her favorite human to watch. She freely talked to ayakashi without any care as to who else was around. Other humans treated her differently because of this. Hinoe had noticed the looks they gave her and heard the words they muttered under their breath as she passed by.

Hinoe preferred when Reiko was alone, away from human and ayakashi. Her, alone, her long hair flowing in the hot Summer wind, always in her school uniform, a long stick in hand. Being in Reiko's presence was like being caught in a storm, fierce and powerful, inescapable. Beautiful.

Inevitably, the watching would end.

"You. I didn't call for you." She doesn't look back, playing with a tiny lizard on a tree, as if she were talking to herself. Reiko was like that. Hinoe wondered if she'd become that way because of how humans were around her. Her eyes always seemed to be staring out at some unseen world, something distant and unreachable.

"I don't like waiting."Hinoe didn't bother trying to hide herself anymore. She knew Reiko could always sense her there. Whether or not she acknowledged her presence depended on Reiko's mood at the time.

"Want to play a game?"She caught the lizard, and then let it go in the grass. Everything was a game with her. A game just to see what she could get away with.

 _No one wins forever though._ Human, ayakashi. All had weaknesses. All could be caught off guard. Hinoe knew she had to make the most of what time she had with Reiko. Humans lived such short lives to begin with. One day, the storm would pass over and the skies would be empty again. "What kind of game?"

"You have to catch me." Reiko stood up, appearing completely calm.

Hinoe stood behind Reiko, running her fingers through her hair. "What do I get if I do?"

The strands slipped through her fingers, and Reiko was already almost out of sight. "Catch me, and you'll find out."


End file.
